A Very Maritime Christmas

This holiday season was a perfect mixture of family celebrations, winter adventures, and preparations for what’s to come.

This was almost assuredly our last Christmas at our condo in Oak Park. It’s crazy to think that I have no idea where we will be a year from now. But exciting, too.

Our families are unbelievably supportive of our plans, and gave the most thoughtful gifts that will make our transition to boating life even more comfortable. Turkish towels for the bath/beach and the galley. (They are a most-coveted item for cruisers: Learn more about Turkish towels here in a great post from another boating family.) Appropriately sized pans for a boat grill. Squigz and other toys that will fair well on a less-than-stable “work surface,” oceanography books and a pocket microscope for our little adventurist, and a cozy owl sleeping bag for starry slumber parties on the bow. And so much more – even a moisture-resistant to-go bag for all of my knitting materials! Yes, my hobby has become an obsession.

In the interest of saving as much as possible for our next chapter, Aaron and I decided to stick to a $10 limit for our gifts to each other. I made him a homemade bag of boat rags (you can never have too many!), and he put together a trivia game for me to learn more about the Bahamian Islands. Each answer gave me the next port of call, and as I “mapped out” our course, a gift awaited me at each place (a hand massage, a few hours to myself, and some essentials I’ll need during our time on the water, like a quality pair of polarized sunglasses). That Aaron guy – he’s a keeper.

A day after we arrived in Michigan, there was finally a decent snowfall! Claire was mesmerized.

After celebrating with my family in a cornucopia of delicious dinners, we spent the week of New Year’s in Michigan with Aaron’s. Well aware of our impending lack of childcare, we reveled in being able to leave Claire with Aaron’s mom in Grand Rapids for a few days and head north to Boyne for skiing and card game debauchery with his brother and his family. Then it was back to Grand Rapids to ring in the New Year with full bellies and full hearts.

Throughout the holiday season, I tried to be as present in the moment as possible. The beauty of thick snow hugging the trees, having family just a short car ride away, the simple pleasure of cozying up to the fireplace after a day spent burning as many calories laughing as skiing … I’m going to miss all of it.

Now begins the real work. We will be meeting with our realtor this week and should have the condo listed shortly thereafter. We continue to toss around whether or not to list Clarity with a broker, though time is proving to be a strong ally to brokering.

In the meantime, more and more “stuff” needs sorting, selling, storing… The tasks seem to keep breeding.

“Let’s sit down tonight and write down a list of to-do lists that need doing.” Sigh…

It’s all worth it, though, with the end game in mind. White sandy beaches, warm afternoon breezes, we’re coming for you. 2016, however you play out, you’re already rocking our world.

This ship may take up an entire cabin on our boat.

All pirates on deck!

My Christmas gift for Aaron – a homemade sack of boat rags. A sailor can never have too many!

Aaron’s gift to me – a fun and creative trivia game to plot a course through the Bahamian Islands, with tickets at each port for special gifts, like new sunglasses and delightful hand massages. That guy’s a keeper!

May I introduce, Princess Mermaid Claire.

Squigz! These suction cup building blocks will allow Claire to construct houses and towers that will stand tall even when the boat is heeled 45 degrees!

Hmmmmm… What should I make first….

A new book for Claire to learn more about all of the sea creatures we’ll be meeting on our travels, and a pocket magnifier perfect for taking a closer look during our island adventures!

Turkish towels, for beach/bath and our galley! I’ve been dreaming about these for years. Super lightweight, super absorbent, quick-drying and antimicrobial.

Aaron and I had a wonderful day skiing at Boyne Mountain, up north in Michigan. It had been eight years since the last time we were on the slopes. My guess is it might be another eight years before we are again. But it was a blast!

This kid loves the snow! Lucky for us, she loves the beaches more :).

Winter perfection. I do think I’m going to miss this.